Space Activities

United Nations Climate Change Conference

Cancun, Mexico, 29 November – 10 December 2010

The annual United Nations Climate Change Conference is mainly a negotiating forum. But it is also a technical conference where expert bodies under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) debate methodological issues relating to climate science and the climate process, which in turn form the basis for political decision-making. At the same time it is a climate change expert meeting with a range of side events and exhibits, attracting key members from governments, UN Organizations and civil society who professionally deal with climate change on a regular basis.

The main events include the sixteenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP16) and the sixth Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP6). The Conference of the Parties is the supreme body of the UNFCCC. It currently meets once a year to review the Convention's progress. COP and CMP are held together to improve coordination between the Convention and the Protocol.

In addition to participating in plenary and working group sessions, UNESCO is involved in several side events at the UN Climate Change Conference.